ACS Support for Sustainable Tourism

The Association of Caribbean States recently held a meeting with local tourism stakeholders on co-operation on sustainable tourism development. Julio Orozco, director of Sustainable Tourism of the ACS, reinforced the importance of cooperation activities and the sharing of achievements to strengthen the countries of the Greater Caribbean.

The work programs of tourism authorities—the Ministry of Tourism, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and the Tourism Development Company (TDC)—were presented with the aim of identifying cross-cutting areas for co-operation. Donna Ferraz, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, who represented Minister Gerald Hadeed at the meeting, said the minister and his staff recognize the importance of the discussions, and by extension, the dialogue on sustainable tourism.

Orozco and Amanda Charles, sustainable tourism adviser of the ACS, emphasized the priority of the Sustainable Tourism Zone of the Caribbean (STZC), the first of its kind in the region. The STZC incorporates the principles of sustainable development in integrated tourism planning and offers a unique tool to co-ordinate regional efforts in tourism development.

Selection of T&T’s STZC destinations will be prioritized. A number of activities were identified for joint implementation and it was agreed that a representative from the ACS and national tourism agencies will be appointed to work towards formalization of these proposals.